Foxes black white gray red brown. Photo of a gray fox - behavior of a gray fox. Gray fox or tree fox

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Description Gray fox short stature . Around the dark brown nose, the fur is “colored” with a white spot, the main color is reddish-brown, the sides, neck and paws of the gray fox are covered with fur of this color. The belly area is covered with white fur. Also characteristic is a black line stretching from the base of the tail to its tip. Another distinctive feature there is another black line crossing the face from the nose to the eyes, then “going” back along the sides of the head. The height at the withers is 30-40 cm. The gray fox is very agile and dexterous for its family, it runs fast, and also knows how to climb trees (it is also called).

tree fox

The gray fox has a dense build, with shorter paws compared to the red fox, so it is smaller in stature, but its long fluffy tail looks more luxurious than that of its rival, but its undercoat does not protect against the cold as well as that of red fox. Therefore, the gray fox cannot live in particularly cold climates.

Reproduction and population

Gray foxes are monogamous and live with a partner for the rest of their lives. After mating, in February, the mother can give birth to from 4 to 10 fox cubs, which are already 11 months old and leave their parents. Perhaps it was precisely because of this ability for fertility that this species was not on the verge of death. The annual extermination of the gray fox, for example, in Wisconsin, because of its soft fur, reduced the population size of the species by up to half.

• Subspecies
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus borealis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus californicus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus colimensis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus costaricensis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus floridanus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus fraterculus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus furvus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus guatemalae
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus madrensis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus nigrirostris
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus ocythous
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus orinomus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus peninsularis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus scotti
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus townsendi

Urocyon cinereoargenteus venezuelae

Gallery

Keulemans gray fox.png U. cinereoargenteus

, drawing by J. G. Kjolemans, 1890

NIE 1905 Fox.jpg

Drawing of six species of the canid family, gray fox below, left

Keulemans gray fox.png Urocyon cinereoargenteus.jpg

, New Mexico

Keulemans gray fox.png, Minnesota

GrayFoxApr04NFla.jpg

Keulemans gray fox.png, northern Florida

Urocyon cinereoargenteus grayFox fullFace.jpg

Keulemans gray fox.png at an altitude of 2.1 thousand meters in California

Red Fox vs Gray Fox - San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge.jpg

Meeting the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) with sulfur ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

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Notes

Excerpt characterizing the Gray Fox

The so-called partisan war began with the enemy’s entry into Smolensk.
Before guerrilla warfare was officially accepted by our government, thousands of people of the enemy army - backward marauders, foragers - were exterminated by the Cossacks and peasants, who beat these people as unconsciously as dogs unconsciously kill a runaway rabid dog. Denis Davydov, with his Russian instinct, was the first to understand the meaning of that terrible club, which, without asking the rules of military art, destroyed the French, and the glory of the first step to legitimize this method of war belongs to him.
On August 24th the first partisan detachment Davydov, and after his detachment others began to be established. The further the campaign progressed, the more the number of these detachments increased.
The partisans destroyed the Great Army piece by piece. They picked up those fallen leaves that fell of their own accord from the withered tree - the French army, and sometimes shook this tree. In October, while the French were fleeing to Smolensk, there were hundreds of these parties of various sizes and characters. There were parties that adopted all the techniques of the army, with infantry, artillery, headquarters, and the comforts of life; there were only Cossacks and cavalry; there were small ones, prefabricated ones, on foot and on horseback, there were peasant and landowner ones, unknown to anyone. There was a sexton as the head of the party, who took several hundred prisoners a month. There was the elder Vasilisa, who killed hundreds of French.
The last days of October were the peak time guerrilla warfare. That first period of this war, during which the partisans, themselves surprised at their audacity, were afraid at every moment of being caught and surrounded by the French and, without unsaddled or almost getting off their horses, hid in the forests, expecting a pursuit at every moment, has already passed. Now this war had already been defined, it became clear to everyone what could be done with the French and what could not be done. Now only those detachment commanders who, with their headquarters, according to the rules, walked away from the French, considered many things impossible. The small partisans, who had long since begun their work and were closely looking out for the French, considered it possible what the leaders of large detachments did not dare to think about. The Cossacks and men who climbed among the French believed that now everything was possible.
On October 22, Denisov, who was one of the partisans, was with his party in the midst of partisan passion. In the morning he and his party were on the move. All day long, through the forests adjacent to the high road, he followed a large French transport of cavalry equipment and Russian prisoners, separated from other troops and under strong cover, as was known from spies and prisoners, heading towards Smolensk. This transport was known not only to Denisov and Dolokhov (also a partisan with a small party), who walked close to Denisov, but also to the commanders of large detachments with headquarters: everyone knew about this transport and, as Denisov said, sharpened their teeth on it. Two of these large detachment leaders - one Pole, the other German - almost at the same time sent Denisov an invitation to each join his own detachment in order to attack the transport.

We know that most people love foxes, but how can you not love these beauties in fluffy fur coats? Therefore, we decided that you would be interested in learning about some of the most beautiful and colorful species of these forest animals. The common or red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is what usually comes to mind when you hear the word "fox" and this makes sense, because this type The fox is the most common in the world and can be found anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. If you love foxes and think they look much better in wildlife than on someone's neck, then you will definitely want to see the 7 most beautiful views foxes in their natural element!

Fennec Fox

Fennec foxes living in North Africa and the Sahara Desert, are distinguished by their large ears, which serve not only to enable the animal to hunt better, but also to better cool the body in the heat of the day. Their creamy fur also helps them avoid the harsh sun during the day and keep them warm at night.

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest, most widespread, and therefore most diverse species of all foxes. They can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and in Australia. These foxes are very dexterous hunters and can even jump over a two-meter fence.

Marble Fox

The Arctic marbled fox is also a representative of the red fox species, the color of which is not found in the wild - its color was bred artificially for the sake of fur.

Gray Fox

The gray fox, which lives in North America, is distinguished by its salt-and-pepper coat, black-tipped tail and red muzzle, and is one of the few canids capable of climbing trees.

Black and brown fox (Silver Fox)

The silver fox is actually the same species of red fox, differing only in different pigmentation. There was a time when the silver fox was considered one of the most valuable fur-bearing foxes that could be found. People still breed and raise them for their fur.

Arctic Fox

Arctic fox can be found throughout the Arctic Circle. Its thick fur protects the animal from enormous low temperatures(-70 degrees Celsius). These foxes have relatively short legs and snouts, which allows them to retain heat.

Cross Fox

Another species of red fox, which is the most common in North America.

Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), or tree fox, is a very unusual mammal because it looks more like a small dog with a fluffy tail. They live in Canada, in the central and southwestern states of America, Venezuela, and are found in California and Mexico. They got their name from the gray-silver saddle cloth on their back and sides. Although the lower part on the sides, neck, base of the tail, back, paws, as well as the lower part of the tail are the same bright rusty-red color as that of an ordinary red fox. They are also distinguished by a black stripe that runs along the top of the croup and throughout the entire fluffy tail. The stripe ends with a black tip on the tail. The muzzle of the animal is silver-gray, with a white rim around the black nose. This fur color camouflages well from predators.

The gray fox is also unusual in that it is the only kind in a family of wolves capable of climbing trees. There she hides from enemies and sits in ambush, tracking down prey. And in order to climb a tree, she has to climb up the trunk, pushing off with long hooked claws on hind legs. No worse than a squirrel, the animal can move along the crown of trees, jumping from branch to branch or sliding down in the opposite direction.

This mammal cannot be called a particularly fast runner, but over short distances it can also develop good speed. Short, very powerful and well-developed paws give the animal a huge advantage when it climbs up trees or rocks, and strong, hooked claws allow it to cling to trunks and branches.

Gray foxes are nocturnal animals and hide in their dens during the day, marking the boundaries of their territory with urine. Females reach sexual maturity in a year, and look for a mate from February to March. Pairs are permanent and the father of the cubs remains with the female until they are born, but then he is expelled from the den.

Typically, from 3 to 5 cubs are born after 50-55 days of pregnancy, but there are also large litters of up to 11 cubs. The babies are dark brown and blind from birth, but already open their eyes on the 10th day. The mother stops caring for the cubs after 10 weeks. All this time, the father regularly supplies the family with food. By winter, the couples separate, and the cubs become completely independent; each must survive the harshest time alone. Average duration The lifespan of this species is up to 6 years in the wild and about 12 years in captivity.

The gray fox is a solitary hunter, but its diet is very diverse: berries, nuts, birds, insects, and all types of rodents, in addition, the ability to climb trees allows it to find food that is inaccessible to its ordinary red relative. If she manages to get more food than she can eat at once, she will definitely hide it and return later. And to find the burial site, he will mark it with urine. In arid regions, animals eat more insects, arthropods, and plant foods than foxes living in the east.

The gray fox has several predators other than humans. Hawks, eagles, owls, lynxes, dogs and even

Photos of foxes taken in their natural environment habitat, and short descriptions species will give you an idea of ​​these colorful furry wild animals.

Photo by: Roselyn Raymond

Photo by: Kai Fagerstrom

Photo by: Wenda Atkin

The red fox is the most widespread and therefore the most diverse species of all foxes. They can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and in Australia. These agile hunters are known to be able to jump over fences two meters high. (Photo credit: Roselyn Raymond)

Marble fox

Author of the photo: unknown

Author of the photo: unknown

The Arctic marbled fox is a subspecies of the red fox. It is not found in nature with this color; people raised it for its fur. (Photo credit: Ewald Mario)

Gray fox or tree fox

Photo credit: Variegated Vibes

The gray fox is common in North America. It is distinguished by its fawn-gray fur color with a black tip of the tail. This fox is one of the few dogs that can climb trees. (Photo credit: John Payne)

Black and brown fox or silver fox

Photo by: Shelley Evans

This is another variety of fox with a beautiful color ranging from completely black with a white tip of the tail to gray with a blue or brown tint. The silver fox is known as one of the most valuable fur-bearing animals. They are still bred and raised for their fur. (Photo credit: Matt Knoth)

Photo by: Daniel Parent

Lgray tit, Gray Fox. Latin name: Urocyon cinereoargenteus. The Latin generic name Urocyonis is based on the Greek words oura (tail) and kyon (dog). The specific name cinereoargenteusis is derived from Greek word cinereus (ash) and argenteus (silver), indicating the dominant color of the fox. Other names: tree fox

It is found in most of the territory North America from southern regions Canada to the Isthmus of Panama also in the north South America(Venezuela and Colombia). The gray fox is not found in the Rocky Mountains of the far northwestern United States. The gray fox disappeared from Canada in the late 17th century, but they have recently been found in southern Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. In a number of places it disappeared after the brown fox from Europe acclimatized there. Some researchers argue that the causal relationship between these events is questionable. In their opinion, the decline in the number of gray foxes, and the spread of brown foxes, was the result of changes in human land use.

The gray fox is smaller than the brown fox and looks like a small dog with a fluffy tail. The gray fox has short powerful legs and strong, hooked claws that make it easy to climb tree trunks and branches. Compared to other canids, the gray fox has a rather variegated coloration, and its fur is quite short and coarse. The tail is triangular in cross section rather than round. Skull length: from 9.5 to 12.8 cm. Dental formula, as in a brown fox, number of teeth - 42.

Color: Back, sides and top of the long, fluffy tail They are gray or dark gray with silver speckles. The muzzle is also gray. The lower part of the neck, chest, abdomen, as well as the front and inner sides legs are distinguished by a whitish-gray color. The tip of the tail is black. Slightly noticeable black stripes appear on the back (sometimes they are clearly visible). The crown, side of the neck, edges of the abdomen and the outer sides of the legs are colored reddish-gray, and sometimes have a bright reddish-orange color. Because of this coloration, the gray fox is sometimes mistakenly identified as a brown fox, which can always be distinguished by its black legs and white tail tip. Fox cubs are almost black.

Body length - 48-69 cm; head length - 9.5-12.8 cm; tail length - 25-40 cm; height at withers - about 30 cm.

Weight: The weight of the gray fox ranges from 2.5 to 7 kg, but most often it is 3.5-6 kg. Females are always somewhat lighter than males.

Lifespan: Gray foxes live for 6 years in the wild, maximum lifespan in captivity: 15 years.

Voice: Like other canines, foxes talk to each other and use sounds. These vocalizations include aggressive yelps, resonant howls, soft whimpers, and specific calls. Among the sounds made by a gray fox when it sees a person, the most characteristic is a sharp bark.

Habitat: Most often, the gray fox can be found in bushes, forest edges, and mountain copses. In general, it prefers wooded areas, although it is found in cultivated fields and in the vicinity of cities. Of the tree plantations, pine trees are the most preferred. The gray fox prefers pine groves to deciduous ones everywhere within its range; this is where it mainly locates its den. At the same time, for hunting and feeding, she often chooses deciduous tree and shrub plantations, in which small mammals more numerous.

Foxes especially suffer from hunters, particularly during wild turkey hunts. Special studies of the causes of mortality have shown that humans are responsible for the mortality of 33% of individuals, 22% die from natural factors, 44% - from unknown factors.

The gray fox is an omnivore and its diet is very diverse and depends on the time of year and habitat and includes: small vertebrates, especially rabbits, rodents, birds and eggs, insects. Sometimes she has to eat alone plant foods(fruits, fruits, nuts, grains, etc.), the fox does not refuse carrion. Thanks to its ability to climb trees, its diet includes purely arboreal creatures such as squirrels - in some places playing important role in the diet of the gray fox, which does not occur in other wild canids.

Gray foxes love to climb trees, which is why they are often called "tree foxes." At the first danger, they often climb onto low or half-fallen, leaning trees. This ability likely allowed the gray fox to coexist with coyotes, while the brown fox population declined significantly as the coyote population increased.

How do gray foxes climb trees? Lightly grasping the tree trunk with her front paws, she pushes her body up with her hind legs, which, thanks to her long and strong claws, hold her firmly to the trunk. In addition, the fox is able to jump onto the branching branches of a tree, using this ability to ambush prey from above. On the ground, when chasing prey or hiding from an enemy, a fox can reach speeds of up to 17 km/h, but only over relatively short distances.

They hunt mainly at night and twilight, and spend the entire day lying down in a secluded place, sleeping and resting. Animals are usually attached to the same place, so their lifestyle is sedentary; they have never been seen migrating. They rarely dig burrows on their own, but more often they are occupied by strangers; sometimes they choose hollow trees as their own home; they can settle in rock crevices, voids under stones and trunks, even in abandoned buildings. In eastern Texas, a cavity was found used by a fox to rest about 10 m above the ground in a large hollow oak tree. In central Texas, a den was found in a hollow live oak tree with an entrance 1 m above the ground. The unusual den was found under a pile of wood, into which the fox had "tunneled."

Foxes need clean water for drinking, so they regularly visit the pond. In this regard, they locate their lairs near the source drinking water, where, over time, a clearly visible path is trampled.

Social structure: They live in pairs, occupying a specific family territory. In the summer, while the fox cubs are growing up, gray foxes roam in family packs, which disband by autumn. The area of ​​the family plot varies from 3 to 27.6 km2 and in different family groups they usually partially overlap. Outside the breeding season, the individual areas of males practically do not overlap, while the areas of males and females can overlap by 25-30%. The size of such overlap depends both on the food supply of the areas and on the season of the year. Being fairly silent territorialists, gray foxes mark their territorial boundaries with piles of droppings and urine, which are left on the most noticeable boundary markers such as tufts of grass and protruding structures: earthen hummocks, stumps, individual stones, etc. These scent marks are regularly updated, but especially in places frequently visited by animals. The specific smell is provided by a secretion produced by a pair of violet glands located on both sides of the anus. Both males and females appear to raise their leg when marking territory with urine. A pungent odor, very similar to that emitted by skunks, is easily detected even by humans in areas where gray foxes have frequently marked “border posts.”

Reproduction: During the breeding season, numerous fairly fierce fights occur between males, after which the winning male remains with the female and forms a pair. After the birth of the offspring, the males take an active part in obtaining food for the puppies and protecting the boundaries of the family area from other foxes entering there.

Breeding season/period: Rutting and mating times depend on the latitude of the area and are observed from December to April.

Puberty: Males reach sexual maturity at 10 months; females give birth at one year of age.

Pregnancy: Pregnancy lasts 51-63 days, with an average of 53 days.

Offspring: In a den carefully lined with dry grass, leaves or shredded bark tree species, from 2 to 7 (on average 3.8) black-brown, blind and helpless puppies are born. In puppies weighing about 100 g, their eyes are closed and they open only at 10-14 days. Lactation: 7-9 weeks, and they begin to consume solid food from 5-6 weeks. If possible, as soon as the puppies have grown up a little, the foxes try to change the old den for a new one due to the massive reproduction of fleas in them, which greatly pester both adults and puppies.

At the age of four months, puppies begin to accompany adults on hunts.

Young pups are in their first year and have been known to travel up to 84 km. Puppies are weaned at or around 6 weeks. Gradually the pups learn to hunt for themselves, first leaving the den area to hunt with their parents when they are about 3 months old.

The fur of the gray fox is of rather low quality, so the gray fox is not of particular interest as an object of industrial hunting, but only as a sport one. In the state of Texas, the gray fox is considered one of the most important fur-bearing animals. The gray fox is abundant in desert areas - it often helps farmers in the fight against harmful rodents. When the gray fox becomes a pest itself, eating chickens and destroying crops, farmers shoot them or catch them in all sorts of traps.

Widespread species, no threat of extinction.